The NBA has been actively working on getting back to playing amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Due to safety concerns of players, staff and fans, the NBA postponed its season on March 11 after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert had contracted the virus.
Now reaching over 50 days without basketball, the NBA is exploring any option it can in order to resume the season. However, while there are multiple variables and obstacles in doing that, one in particular sticks out for the league’s general managers.
Per Baxter Holmes of ESPN, many GM’s are concerned with the possible health risks of resuming the season when it comes to older staff members. An anonymous general manager said to Holmes,
“I don’t want to put them in harm’s way.”
Many of the league’s coaches on the older side and therefore more at risk to contract COVID-19 GM’s concerns are valid.
“‘Based on all the information that we have today, probably people over 60 with preexisting conditions can’t go, for sure, no matter what their titles are,’ the second general manager said. ‘Whether it’s a father of the star player or whether it’s the general manager of the team, they can’t go there,’ another GM said.”
While there are no concrete plans in place for the league’s return, the NBA has announced that certain teams in states with fewer quarantine restrictions will be allowed to re-open their practice facilities.
“‘I worry about those guys,’ the general manager said. ‘That’s an exposure that I don’t think we can afford,’ the anonymous GM said.”
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